"The Committee interacts with SOCA and its officers frequently in the course of our inquiries and we have been impressed by their work. We understand that they are, by definition, working on complicated, sensitive cases that take time to resolve.

"However, the fact is that the public expect evidence of results, and the recovery of criminal assets is an easy way to measure results and justify the Agency’s significant budget. It may be time for SOCA to have some measurable targets.

"We also need some mechanism for day-to-day accountability for SOCA, which for obvious, operational reasons is less transparent than other police services – it may be time to create a police authority specifically to oversee its work.